Support Jessica Brown's battle against cancer

My precious daughter, Jessica, has received a shocking diagnosis of extensive breast cancer. Jessica found out she had some issues at her first screening mammogram in December 2022. When she went she thought she was just checking off an exam she wouldn’t have to think about for another year. What followed was a shock to all of us. Despite having no risk factors for breast cancer, Jessica’s first mammogram turned into a cycle of multiple types of mammograms, MRIs, biopsies, and consultations. There is an option for her to have a full-body MRI that would detect any areas of the body that have developed cancers—but because the technology is so new—it’s not covered by insurance. $2,500 is a small amount to pay to know that you do/don’t have cancer anywhere else—but with all of her expenses, it’s not an option for Jessica without help. This is especially important to me for Jessica. While, thank Gd she doesn't carry any of the BCRA genes--she DOES carry a gene that puts her at risk of an extremely aggressive, rare type of ovarian cancer--an aggressive cancer with 5-year survival rates of 53.8% in stage I disease. :(

After a waiting period, she became a patient at Winship Cancer Institute. When she transferred her care from two other Atlanta hospitals—her oncologist and radiologist at Winship found that her cancer was even worse than initially thought. I am trying to balance sharing information to help Jessica while also managing to respect her privacy. I’m sure if you’d like more information, she would share more 1-1

Jessica has been handling all out-of-pocket costs until this point. She’s spent over $12,000 with insurance! She also experienced the unexpected loss of her Father this Summer. In addition, she has experienced multiple traumas in the last 18 months.

The culmination of all of this has resulted in Jessica struggling financially. Her house went into foreclosure so she took an additional loan to make sure she wouldn’t be homeless through cancer treatment. She has PTO at work but will exhaust it before she finishes recovery—resulting in her having no choice, to be able to fight cancer—she will end up having to take unpaid leave.

I am asking for help for Jessica because she is always the first person there to help anyone else. She needs the whole body MRI, resources to help her cover her household bills while she is out of work, medical supplies for home, and more. She is alone in Atlanta.

For anyone that’s met Jessica even once, you know my daughter is the most generous caring person. She will jump to help others before helping herself. She also is a frugal person—her refrigerator isn’t cooling so she’s four creative ways to keep food at a safe temperature; she has repeatedly repaired the electrical wiring on her HVAC unit this summer; half of her stove doesn’t work, so she meals plans so she doesn’t need those burners; and she doesn’t mind handwashing her dishes. In the last year, instead of spending money--she has learned to repair her own house rot, repainted and pressure washed portions of her house, clean her gutters, and 100 more things so save money.

What Jessica does spend money on is helping others. She is a former foster mom and wonderful Auntie. She LOVES being a Sunday School teacher for her Synagogue and every week buys art supplies for her kids’ projects. She faithfully gives to her charity box and donates the money. When she cooks a large meal, she will often reach out to neighbors to see if she can take over a plate of food.

If you’re reading this there is a likelihood that Jessica has made you smile, helped you in some way, prayed for you (even when you didn’t know it), and would still give you her winter coat if you were cold. If you have been impacted by my daughter, I ask you to help her now. Any donation will help her—and if you’re not able to donate—please share with a personal note.

Lots of people have reached out and ask how to send words of support to Jessica. She can be reached by text at [phone redacted] or email at O R D 4 @ cdc. gov.